South Village by Rob Hart

Author:Rob Hart [Hart, Rob]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Polis Books
Published: 2016-09-20T22:00:00+00:00

Sunny and Moony live in the most remote tree house in camp. I know I’m within a hundred yards when I pass a wooden sign with words carefully carved into it. “If you don’t have an invitation, please turn back.”

I’ve never seen their place before, and I almost miss it. It sits close to the ground, and looks more like one of the domes at the front of camp. It’s nearly covered in a creep of ivy so it blends into the surrounding forest. Psychedelic curtains hang in the windows, blocking the view. I climb up the steps and knock on the door jamb.

“Who goes there?” calls a voice from inside.

“Ash.”

“Two minutes.”

I sit down on the step, look out at the green expanse of the woods. Run through the stuff I need to do if I successfully talk my way inside, because I’m sure I won’t have long. The door opens and Moony steps out wearing a robe she’s not doing a great job of holding shut, so I can still see most of her pale, awkward body.

She smiles, brushing her black hair out of her face, her cheeks flushed red. “Sorry, we’re in the middle of a session.”

“Yeah, about that. I need a favor.”

She tilts her head and smiles.

“Did those fed thugs make it out here?” I ask.

“They did not.”

“Good. I need some computer time. I don’t trust the house computer.”

She seems to think about this for a second, but ultimately frowns. “You know we don’t let people use our rig.”

“That’s why it’s a favor. I’ll owe you one.”

It’s a big ask. The office computer is a tricycle. The one here is a Ferrari. It would need to be. As I’m to understand things, they used to live in the real world, where they earned some good money and acclaim doing cam shows. They heard about South Village shortly after it opened and decided they wanted to move their operation here. But they wanted to do it on their terms, so they cut a deal with Tibo.

The hut was built custom for them, and they paid to install fiber optic internet and a dedicated feed of electricity. Only to them, not to the rest of the camp. That was Tibo’s decision, even though they offered to extend the lines to the main part of camp. He thought more robust internet and electricity were a slippery slope to turning this place into a Best Western.

South Village gets a small cut of their profits, as a form of rent. In exchange they get to live on the land, get access to everything in the camp, and maintain a level of privacy they hadn’t been afforded previously. Plus, they don’t have to do chores.

Besides the sign warning away visitors, everyone who comes to South Village gets a very stern warning about staying away from here. You normally don’t even come up to this place unless you’ve been invited.

Which makes me feel a little like an asshole even being here.

“A favor, huh.” Moony smirks.

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